


Convincing

by doctornineandthreequarters



Series: 9-1-1 Prompts and Drabbles [17]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Apologies, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, First Kiss, Insecure Evan "Buck" Buckley, M/M, Soft Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:13:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27417814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctornineandthreequarters/pseuds/doctornineandthreequarters
Summary: “Why did you need to tell me that I wasn’t exhausting?” Eddie asked and Buck frowned sadly. “I mean, Andrew was being rude but you were really insistent.”“You didn’t deserve that,” Buck said, sadly. “No one deserves to be told they’re exhausting.”---Or, an off-hand comment leads to some startling revelations.
Relationships: Eddie Diaz & Henrietta "Hen" Wilson, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)
Series: 9-1-1 Prompts and Drabbles [17]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1878523
Comments: 24
Kudos: 486





	Convincing

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Someone calls Eddie exhausting but instead of getting cold and angry and throwing Eddie’s words to just suck it up back at him, Buck staunchly tells Eddie’s he’s the farthest thing from exhausting and he wouldn’t change one thing about him. Eddie is confused but actually feels better. He asks Buck why he reacted this way and Buck just gives him this sad little smile and says he’d spare anyone from feeling the way Eddie made him feel when he said this words that day, even Eddie himself.

“Damn Diaz!” Eddie had been sitting in the common area of the station loft, talking about something to do with Christopher’s school. He had actually lost track of what exactly he had been talking about, going on a tangent about a project Christopher had to do. “Do you ever stop talking about your kid?” It was Andrew, one of the guys from the B-shift, who they didn’t often work with. Normally, when Eddie talked about Christopher, it was to Buck and Hen, who were always willing to listen, and occasionally Bobby, who would nod along. Chimney would sometimes listen to, but Eddie wondered how much he actually listened (probably more now that he actually had a kid of his own on the way).

Eddie was about to tell Andrew that he loved his kid and would talk about him until he was blue in the face, when Andrew kept talking. 

“I mean you’ve been talking about this kid’s project for like five minutes!” Eddie raised an eyebrow at that. “I mean, it’s exhausting. Hearing you go on and on about this is exhausting. Are parents always like this?” Eddie didn’t say anything, still confused why Andrew even had a problem with him talking about his kid and a little frustrated that he would say something so rude.

“I need to get back on my regular shift,” Andrew grumbled, before walking away. 

“What’s his problem?” Eddie asked, glancing over at Hen and Buck. Hen just shrugged, an unreadable expression on his face. He then turned to Buck, who almost looked sad. 

“I don’t know what his deal is,” Buck said. “But you’re not exhausting, Eddie. You talking about Christopher is not exhausting. You and your love for your kid are the furthest thing from exhausting, okay?” Eddie tilted his head, confusion mapping his features, but a small smile crossed his face. 

“Oh. Thanks Buck.” Buck nodded and smiled a little. But Eddie couldn’t help but notice how sad he looked, even when he was smiling. He was about to say something when Buck got up and left the loft. He watched him go, an odd mix of feelings swirling in his gut. 

“What was that about?” He asked, looking over at Hen. She pursed her lips, almost as if she was calculating what to say. 

“You really don’t remember?” Eddie raised an eyebrow and Hen just sighed. “I’ll let you figure it out on your own.” She then got up, patting his arm as she did, and then walked away. Eddie sat there, perplexed as to what had just happened. 

Some hours later, Eddie was still confused. He had thought about what Buck had said to him on and off for the rest of the shift. It had made him feel better, especially because what Andrew had said had been pretty hurtful. But he was wracking his brain for why Buck had responded in the way he did. 

He glanced over at Buck, who was sitting on the opposite side of the couch. It was their standing movie night, which meant pizza, some animated movie that Christopher had chosen, and watching his kid fall asleep while using Buck as a pillow. It was all sweet and domestic and stirred feelings in Eddie that he wasn’t ready to address. 

He realized he had zoned out because Buck was suddenly trying to get his attention. 

“Eds?”

“Huh?”

“I was just asking if you want me to put Christopher to bed since he’s basically asleep on my side.” He tilted his head, something about that choice of phrase echoing in his brain.

“Oh, yeah sure.” Buck nodded and stood up, lifting Christopher as he did. He watched Buck go, still trying to connect the dots. Why would Buck want him to know that he’s not exhausting? Why would Hen ask him if he didn’t remember? And what did all of this feel weirdly familiar?

“Eddie?” He looked up to see that Buck had come back into the room. 

“Chris down for the count?” Buck nodded as he watched Eddie. “What?”

“You tell me. You’re the one who’s been acting weird all day.” Eddie sighed and Buck tilted his head. 

“Why did you need to tell me that I wasn’t exhausting?” Eddie asked and Buck frowned sadly. “I mean, Andrew was being rude but you were really insistent.”

“You didn’t deserve that,” Buck said, sadly. “No one deserves to be told they’re exhausting.” Eddie tilted his head, still not understanding. Why did this matter so much to Buck? Why did Buck need him to know that he wasn’t exhausting?

And then it hit him.

_Because you’re exhausting._

“The grocery store.” Buck looked down at his feet, trying to hide the devastated look on his face. “Buck.”

“It’s fine.” 

“No it’s not,” Eddie said, getting up and crossing over to him. Buck continued to look down, avoiding Eddie’s gaze. “Buck, when I said that...I was angry and just lashing out. You didn’t deserve that.”

“You were mad,” Buck said sadly, still avoiding his gaze. “It’s okay.”

“It’s not,” Eddie said. “You just wanted your job back and instead of understanding, I lost it on you.” He stepped even closer, placing his hand on Buck’s shoulder. “Buck, you are not exhausting. You have never been exhausting. You are the most kind and selfless person I know.”

“You’re just saying that.” Eddie shook his head. He needed Buck to understand him, to really hear him. He tipped Buck’s chin up, heart breaking a little when he saw the tears on Buck’s face. He swiped his thumb across Buck’s cheek, which was meant to wipe the tear away, but he kept it there, gently caressing Buck’s cheek. Buck just watched him, that sad expression still there. And Eddie wanted to take that sadness away, to put back together what he broke.

So, he closed the space between them, pressing his lips to Buck’s in a tender kiss.

“Do you believe me now?” Eddie asked, when he pulled away. Buck rested his forehead against Eddie’s, a slight laugh bubbling up as he sniffled.

“I could use a little more convincing.” Eddie chuckled before kissing him again. 

If it took the rest of their lives for Eddie to convince Buck of the truth, then he’d do just that.


End file.
